Don't Leave Me Again
by Wise Warrior
Summary: "How is Emily?"   Reid overhears JJ and Hotch, and three words change his life.  Mainly Reid/Prentiss with hints of Hotch/JJ, Morgan/Garcia, and one-sided Seaver/Reid.
1. Did You Eavesdrop?

"JJ!"

Spencer Reid was desperately knocking on the door of Jennifer Jareau's apartment. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were framed by dark circles.

_Emily's alive. She's alive._

JJ and Hotch had lingered in Hotch's office at the end of the workday. The young doctor had been passing by the slightly cracked-open door with his messenger bag until three words stopped him. "How is Emily?" He hadn't believed it at first. He had to be hearing things. But he wasn't – Jennifer Jareau and Aaron Hotchner were sitting in an office, discussing the woman who was supposed to have died weeks before.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as the door opened to reveal a tired JJ, Henry sleeping on her hip.

"Spence?"

"Yeah."

She looked confused, and he couldn't blame her. It was nearly eleven on a Thursday night, and here he was at her door.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Now? Can it wait till to—"

"I know Emily's alive."

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. Her mouth opened as if she were about to say something, but her lips met again and she stood, looking at the young man in her doorway. Henry stirred in her arms and she looked down at her son, then back to her colleague.

"Come in," she said, allowing him to cross in front of her before closing the door behind them. "Sit down. I'm going to put Henry to bed. I'll be right back."

"Okay."

He walked towards the living room as she carried her son to his room down the hall. Framed photographs of Henry and William sat on the end table beside the beige couch. He took a seat on an upholstered chair, leaning back and taking a breath.

_You eavesdropped. She knows that now. You'll be in trouble. Huge trouble._

Footsteps padded down the hallway. He turned to see JJ round the corner and walk towards him, stopping a foot away. "Do you need anything? Coffee, water…?"

"No, thank you." He smiled politely, a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

She sat down on the couch and clasped her hands in her lap. Fiddling with them for a moment, she hesitated before looking up to meet his eyes.

"How did you find out?"

He pursed his lips. "I, uh…I heard you and Hotch talking…"

"Did you eavesdrop?"

"Not…not really. I was walking past and I heard Hotch ask about her. I didn't mean to, but…I just stopped and listened. I'm so sorry, I just—" He shook his head, sighing. "It was wrong."

"What all did you hear?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Something about Paris… I looked through the blinds and I could swear I saw Hotch looking straight at me. I panicked and ran."

"He didn't say anything about seeing you there. I think you're safe."

"Yeah…"

Silence filled the room. Reid coughed.

"You're not…you're not mad, are you?" His voice was small. He was aware he probably sounded like a little boy.

She took a breath, looking around the room, and then met Reid's eyes.

"Spence, I know you love her."

"Yeah, I—What?"

"The way you look at her, Spence. There's no hiding it. Morgan knows it, too. I'm constantly telling him not to tease you about it. Or, I was before she left."

He nodded, a pained look on his face at the memory of the night in the hospital.

"A lot of us thought it was a crush at first, but…the last few weeks she was here, it became so obvious."

He smirked. "Yeah. I'm not good at lying, am I?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "No, Spencer. You're not." She reached out her hand and he hesitated before placing his on top. "That's not a bad thing."

He nodded again. "I guess not."

The silence invaded once again, and Reid's mind was filled with images. For a moment, it seemed as if JJ transformed into Emily, the day so long ago on the jet from a case in Colorado, when she'd taken his hand in hers and reassured him that the beating she had taken wasn't his fault. He pulled his hand away and fiddled with his fingers in his lap.

"So, she's… She's in Paris?" He looked up to meet JJ's eyes.

"Yes."

"You know, I was thinking about…about taking a break. For awhile. To get my mind off things."

She nodded.

"Then I heard you and Hotch talking and…"

"You want to visit Emily."

"Yes."

She sighed. "She goes by Lauren Reynolds."

He nodded.

"She…" JJ trailed off. "Can I call you tomorrow morning?"

"Sure."

"I need to think this over."

"JJ, I'm not going to tell everyone where she is. I love her; I wouldn't put her in danger like that!"

"I didn't say you would, Spencer."

Both were silent for a few long minutes.

"I'll tell Hotch you're taking the day off tomorrow," she finally spoke up. "I'll call you and give you the information you need."

"You…you'd do that?"

"Of course."

He smiled. "Thank you." Standing up and straightening his shirt, he extended a hand to JJ and helped her stand up before allowing her to pull him into a hug.

"I'll let you get some sleep," he said as he pulled away from the embrace. She nodded and walked with him to the door, opening it for him. "Are you sure you want to let me do this?"

"I see no reason not to trust you."

"Can this…can this be our little secret?"

"Yes."

"But you'll tell her I'm coming?"

"Of course."

"Good night, JJ."

"Night, Spence."

He walked out, and as he began to make his way down the hallway, she called out.

"Oh, and…Spencer?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

"She misses you. She…she loves you."

The door closed.


	2. Aaron and Jennifer

"Was that Reid?"

JJ turned to see Hotch standing in the hallway. She nodded.

"He eavesdropped."

She pursed her lips. "Aaron…"

"Aaron what?"

"He misses her."

"That's not an excuse! He could have kept walking. He didn't have to listen in. For a genius, sometimes he's exceedingly socially inept—"

She put a finger to his lips. "He loves her, Aaron."

He sighed and turned away, a hand on his hip.

"Did Henry wake up?"

He shook his head. "Still asleep. So is Jack."

Both were silent for a moment.

"I still can't believe he would listen in like that."

She smirked.

"What?"

"What if _I_ were the one in Paris? What if you thought I was dead and you heard, say, Derek and Penelope discussing it? Wouldn't _you_ listen in?"

He shook his head and allowed the corner of his lip to lift slightly. "I suppose."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, to which he responded by wrapping his own around her waist. "The boys are asleep…"

He raised an eyebrow. She smiled mischievously.

"Henry's quite a heavy sleeper… Is Jack?"

"Oh." He chuckled and held her closer. "I see what you're getting at."

"Do you?"

He leaned down to press his lips against hers. "Mhm." She ran her fingers through his hair and he moved a hand to the back of her neck while keeping the other at the small of her back. And on that note, they made their way to the bedroom.


	3. Chess and Phone Calls

Spencer Reid sat on his bed, moving a pawn across the smooth wood of the chessboard his mother had sent him for Christmas. He had started out playing against himself, but now he was absentmindedly sliding and tapping the dark wooden piece along the squares, JJ's last words still echoing in his head.

_"She loves you."_

This couldn't be true. There was no way in hell the beautiful Emily Prentiss would ever dream of loving _him, _a klutzy, recovered diladuid addict with a bad habit of rambling on until Hotch or Morgan prodded him in the shoulder and told him to hush. He was just a scrawny, 30-year-old brain on a stick with questionable sanity. It had to have been a mistake, he told himself. JJ was tired and distracted. She couldn't have meant it.

If she loved him, why had she left? Why didn't she explain to him? Surely she knew she could trust him. It had been three weeks since he'd found out Penelope was taking Prozac for depression, and he'd told no one. She didn't even leave a note as Gideon had. She knew how he felt about being abandoned—they'd spoken about it after Gideon left. Then again, that had been forever ago—maybe she'd forgotten.

He sighed and flicked the pawn with his index finger, watching it fly across the board to the bedspread on the other side. This was insane. There was no way he could fly all the way to Paris and visit Emily Prentiss. But now he had to—JJ had helped him book a flight from Washington Dulles to Charles de Gaulle at 4:00 PM the next afternoon. There was no way out of this.

Picking up the chessboard and leaning over to gently lay it on the floor beside his bed, Reid lay down and closed his eyes. It had been eleven forty-five the last time he'd checked his watch, about ten minutes ago. Sixteen hours separated him from Paris, France. Sixteen hours separated Spencer Reid from Emily Prentiss.

* * *

><p>"It's midnight, Ashley. You can call him tomorrow!" The pacing blonde stopped her monologue. "…I'm talking to myself. Great."<p>

Ashley Seaver was walking back and forth across a pair of tiles in the kitchen of her apartment. She set her cell phone down on the counter and, bracing her palms against the edge, pulled herself up beside it. Running a hand through her blonde hair, she let out a breath.

_He likes Emily._

_ But she's dead now. And besides, he took you to dinner the other week!_

_ But still…I can't live up to Emily. She's beautiful and intelligent, and she's known him for so much longer than I have…_

_ But she's dead._

"Ugh!"

She shut her eyes tight. She couldn't do this to him. It was obvious he still missed Emily—the way his face contorted into a mixture of pain and what seemed to be excitement when the dark-haired former agent was brought up, and how Morgan had said something to Garcia the other day about Reid never getting "his woman".

But she still didn't understand—was he playing her? Was she a distraction? Did he actually like her?

She bit her lip and looked down at the phone.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," she muttered to herself before pressing a few buttons to access her address book. She looked down at his highlighted name before finally pressing the call button.

_Ring._

_ This is stupid, Ashley. Hang up._

_ Riiiiing._

_ But he asked you on a date. No one does that out of plain courtesy._

_ Riiiiiiiiing._

_ Reid's oblivious to social graces. He probably doesn't even understand what he's doing. You've heard him and Morgan talking—he's had what? two girlfriends throughout the course of his life?_

"Damn it!"

"Excuse me?" a groggy voice spoke.

Her eyes widened. She'd been to caught up in her thoughts to notice that he had picked up the phone.

"Reid. Hi."

"Hello… Who is this?"

"This is…this is Ashley." She paused. "Seaver?"

"Oh! Oh, hi. Um…you're still awake?"

"Yeah. I, um…I wondered if…"

She sighed. _Just stop before you embarrass yourself, Ash._

"Would you like to go to lunch tomorrow after work? Or a movie?"

"Oh! Um…I'd love to, I really would, Ashley, but—"

There it was: _but_. The most irksome word known to man.

"…I'm going out of town. I have some…stuff to take care of. I'm visiting a friend."

"Oh…"

"I'm so sorry. Something came up and, um…yeah. I just…I can't. Not now. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's fine. I just…you know."

"Yeah."

"It doesn't seem like you really do much…"

He chuckled on the other end. "Yeah, I guess I don't. Besides read books, but I guess that doesn't merit any sort of recognition, does it?"

She paused.

"But yeah, it's a really close friend, and I haven't seen her in a few weeks…um…"

"A girlfriend?"

"No, no." He laughed, and for a moment her shoulders sagged with relief. Then he spoke again, this time quietly, as if he was hoping she wouldn't hear. "I wish." With those two words, she felt her entire body tense up.

"Oh…"

"Wait, did you hear that?"

"…I'm sorry. I didn't know you had any sort of…relationship, with anyone…"

"It's all right…"

"I, um. You sound tired. I'll go."

"Hey, it's fine—"

"No. I, um…I have to feed my cat."

"You have a cat?"

"Goodbye, Reid."

The call ended with a _BEEP_. She set the phone down on the counter and lifted her hand to her face. Grimacing, she let out a breath and stood up, making her way to the bedroom. As her face hit the pillow, she let the tears fall.


	4. Jack

"Is JJ going to be my new mommy?"

Hotch turned around and looked down to face the source of the small voice. Jack stood in his blue plaid flannel pants and white t-shirt, which he had picked out himself, insisting to match his father. He knelt down.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno." Jack fiddled with the drawstrings of his pants. "We're staying at her house a lot, and you sleep in the same bed like you and Mommy did."

Hotch knelt down to the six-year-old's level. He opened his mouth to speak, but his son continued before he could say anything.

"I like JJ. She's nice. She makes good waffles."

The older Hotchner smirked and nodded. "Yes," he said. "Yes she does."

Jack sniffed. "She's making them now!" He bounded down the hallway to the kitchen, where he sat down, cross-legged, across from Henry and watched the three-year-old play with his cars. "Are you making waffles, JJ?"

JJ smiled and looked down at the boys. "Yes, I am. Do you want chocolate chips in yours?"

"Yes!" Jack grinned, and JJ grinned back. She looked at her son.

"Henry?"

"Choc-wit chips," he said, crashing two cars together.

Jack laughed, and heard his father laughing as well. He looked up to see Aaron walking past him and Henry towards JJ.

"Are you gonna kiss?" he asked, his face contorting in disgust.

JJ and Hotch exchanged a look and chuckled.

"Maybe," said Hotch, smirking.

"Ew!" The boy tapped Henry on the shoulder. "Let's go play in the room, Henry. They're gonna kiss."

"Kiss," Henry repeated.

"It's gross. You don't wanna see it." He helped the smaller boy stand up. "Let's go." He gave Henry a moment to gather his plastic cars before taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom they'd shared the previous night.

"So," Aaron said once the boys were gone, "are we going to kiss?"

JJ bit her lip and smiled. Placing a warm waffle on a plate, she turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "If you want to."

He smiled.

"Oh," he said. "I want to." He leaned in, leaving an inch between their lips. "I definitely want to." With that, he closed the gap.


	5. There's No Stopping Reid

"What all did you hear last night?"

JJ sat in the passenger seat of Hotch's car, looking out the window as they drove away from the school after dropping Henry off at daycare and Jack at school.

"Bits and pieces," he replied. "Jack wanted a bedtime story." He paused for a moment. "He says you tell them better."

She smiled and turned to him.

"I definitely agree," he added, smiling and making brief eye contact before returning his gaze to the road.

"Aaron?"

"Yes?"

"I, um…Reid's going to Paris."

"Really?" Judging by his tone, he, surprisingly, seemed unfazed.

"Yes. To see Emily."

She braced herself for the explosion, but nothing came.

"It was only a matter of time. There's no stopping Reid."

"…You're not angry?"

He shrugged. "It's really not my business."

She pursed her lips and watched the trees and buildings pass by outside the window.

"He asked if you were going to be his new mommy."

"What?"

"Jack."

"Oh."

She chuckled.

"What? Did you think I was talking about Reid?"

They both laughed. She felt a touch on her hand and looked down. He had let go of the wheel with his right hand and was now stroking the back of her left hand with his fingers. She smiled and intertwined their fingers.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too." She hesitated. "…does Jack like me?"

"He adores you, Jen."

She smiled and looked up to meet his eyes. He flashed one of his soft smiles which would seem so out of place at work, but here, between them, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I love him, too."

He squeezed her hand before returning it to the steering wheel.


	6. Mother and Son

The clock on the nightstand read 1:02.

Spencer Reid couldn't believe he'd allowed himself to sleep in until 11:30 AM, but it was his day off and he'd been up late the night before. He was now walking around the room, packing clothes into the suitcase that lay open on his bed, trying to ignore the emotions at war in his head.

Guilt for listening in to JJ and Hotch's conversation, excitement to be seeing Emily tomorrow, anxiety that maybe he'd show up at Emily's door and she'd shoo him away. Not to mention the way he'd obviously hurt Seaver last night.

Was he leading her on? Did she think he liked her back? Sure, she was very attractive—there was no denying that. But she was no Emily. And he barely even knew her. But still—that was no excuse for hurting her the way he evidently had.

He cursed his obliviousness. It was as Morgan had once told him: "for a genius, you sure are stupid sometimes." He should have known that asking her on a date would imply that he possessed _some _level of romantic interest. But that was all said and done—tomorrow morning, he'd be with Emily.

_Ring! Ring!_

The noise jolted him out of his thoughts. He picked up the phone and, without looking, answered.

"Hello, this is Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Hello, Spencer."

Recognizing the voice on the other end, he smiled. "Mom! How are you?"

"Fine, fine. What about you?"

"Just packing."

"Where are you going?"

"Um, I'll be in Paris tomorrow morning."

"A case in Paris? Wow, that's—"

"It's not for a case. I'm going to visit…" he trailed off.

"Going to visit who?" she responded after about a minute.

"Emily," he said quietly.

"Emily Prentiss? I thought she died."

"So did I…"

"She's alive?"

He absentmindedly picked up a stray sock and began knotting it and unknotting it. "She's hiding. In Paris."

"Did she invite you to visit her?"

"No, actually, I'm…I'm kinda just going to show up and hope the eight hours of travel weren't in vain."

She chuckled. "She doesn't know?"

"JJ said she'd call and tell her, but she's busy and might not remember."

"You're going to take the chance anyway?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

It was silent for a moment.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Spencer?"

"JJ said…she said…" He took a breath. "She said Emily loves me."

"Well, they're pretty close, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I…I guess, but…"

"You don't believe her."

"I…"

"You don't want to believe her because you're afraid of being hurt."

He sighed, dropping the sock he'd been fiddling with for almost two minutes. Somehow his mother always knew. "I want to believe her, but…I'm afraid. What if she was just saying it to make me feel better, or—"

"Spencer, if JJ says Emily loves you, she probably does. Just take her word for it."

"I guess."

"Well, I hope everything works out."

"So do I."

He could almost see his mother smiling, and wished he could be having this conversation with her. "She's a beautiful girl."

"Yes," he said. "Yes she is."

"Smart, too, isn't she?"

He smiled and blushed. "Yeah. Extremely."

"Maybe I'll have a daughter-in-law soon."

He laughed. "I don't really want to get my hopes up too high… We haven't even dated yet." He pushed aside a few shirts and sat down. "Hey, I should go. I'm trying to get ready. My flight's in three hours, and I'll probably need to be there at three to go through baggage check and everything."

"Well, tell Emily I said hello."

"I…I will."

"I love you, Spencer."

He smiled. "I love you too, Mom."

"Have fun in Paris."

"I will," he said, and listened for the click as his mother hung up. Setting down the phone, he sighed. "I hope…"


	7. About Damn Time

"Any questions?"

"Where the hell is Reid today?" Morgan set his mug of coffee on the conference table.

Seaver looked down at her lap and JJ and Hotch exchanged glances.

"Seriously," came Garcia's voice from the screen. "That child is like my little ray of sunshine." Seeing the others staring at her, or more accurately, her image on the screen, she shrugged. "What? Y'all are like my babies, and he's like my genius baby with all the facts to keep me entertained."

Morgan smirked. "I will admit, the kid keeps me entertained."

"Didn't he take the day off?" asked Rossi.

"Yes," said JJ. "He's taking next week off, too."

"Finally that scrawny little thing gives himself a break." Garcia twisted a lock of blond hair around her finger and tapped at her keyboard with the fingers of the other hand. "He's always working or researching or something."

"He barely even sleeps." Morgan shook his head and drained the rest of his coffee.

"Yes," said Hotch, "well, he's taking a break. He'll be back in about a week. Until then, we'll work the case without him." He paused and looked around at his team members. "Garcia, give us the breakdown."

The team's worries and words about their young genius colleague dissipated as the workday officially began.

* * *

><p>"Baby girl!"<p>

Garcia turned from the computer screens to see Morgan entering her dark office.

"Get Pretty Boy on the phone," he said. "It's four-twenty and I still haven't heard a word from him."

"As you wish," she replied, and tapped away at the buttons on her phone. After a few short rings, Reid's voice came from the speaker.

"Yeah, this is Spencer Reid."

"Kid!" Morgan called, taking a seat next to Garcia. "Where you at?"

"I'm on a plane."

"A plane?" exclaimed Garcia. "Why?"

"I'm…visiting someone this week."

"Oh, are you going to see your mom?" she asked.

"Not my mom…a friend."

"A _lady _friend?" Morgan waggled his eyebrows, momentarily forgetting his friend couldn't see him.

"Just an old friend."

"Where?"

"Paris."

"…France?"

"Um…"

The room was silent. Morgan and Garcia exchanged glances.

"No," Reid's voice finally came. "Texas."

"Is that a joke or—"

Garcia was interrupted by a different voice coming from the speakers.

"Kid, this plane is going to France! You must be on the wrong flight."

Garcia raised her eyebrows. "Rude!" she said.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Kid, you're going to be gone for a _week?_"

"About that long, yeah."

"This _is _a girl, isn't it?" asked Morgan, feeling triumphant.

"What makes you think that?"

"A _week _away from work. You're never gone that long. The only explanation I have is…" he paused to smirk at Penelope, then continued, "you'll be gettin' it _on_."

"What! Who said— Morgan, I will not be…" His voice lowered, and he awkwardly muttered the words: "_getting it on_…with anyone!"

"Mhm," said Morgan skeptically. "Right. Have fun, kid."

Reid sighed, irritation clear in the release of air.

Before he could utter another word, Morgan pressed the _end _button and laughed.

"You're being so hard on him, Derek," said Garcia, hitting him playfully.

"Oh, he can take it," he replied, smiling. "I just can't believe Pretty Boy is gettin' some!"

"He never said he was 'getting some'," she said. "He's visiting a friend."

"For a week." Morgan, now standing, looked down at Garcia. "Kid's getting laid."

Garcia erupted in giggles. "Thirty-year-old virgin IRL."

"Wasn't it the '_Forty_-year-old Virgin?"

Garcia frowned. "Close enough."

"It's all right. I still love you, Baby Girl."

"You better," she said, standing up and prodding his chest with a long, red-painted fingernail. After standing there for a moment, she realized their proximity. Their faces were inches apart. Before she could step back, however, he leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, she mentally debated for a split second before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him back to her.

A moment passed before a throat was cleared in the doorway. The two broke apart quickly and turned to see JJ standing there.

"Um…I don't want to interrupt, but…Rossi and Ashley found something."

"All right," said Morgan, and he stepped past Garcia and walked to the doorway. He turned around after JJ had left the room and winked at Garcia.

"Tonight?"

"Oh, yes," she said, grinning from ear to ear. After a second, her smile faltered, and she looked at him. "Is this just a regular date or…"

"You never know," he said, smirking, before turning around and leaving the room.

She waited until she was sure she was completely alone before she squealed and sat back down in her chair. "It's about damn time," she said to herself, and returned to her work.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I hope that little segment of Morgan/Garcia fluff was satisfactory. And yes, I _had _to let JJ cockblock. Sorry, guys. Don't worry, there will be non-cockblocked Morgan/Garcia soon enough!


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